During the first few seconds after my computer starts, all of my desktop icons are visible. After roughly 12 seconds, most of them disappear, leaving only three shortcuts. I also noticed that the folder changes from "Desktop" to lowercase "desktop." My Pictures folder is empty, while opening Videos reports that the location is unavailable. I have important files in these folders and need help figuring out whether they were moved, disconnected, or affected by a sync setting. I do have OneDrive installed for school.
1 Answer
OneDrive is the first thing I’d check. It may be backing up or redirecting your Desktop, Pictures, and Videos folders, especially if it was recently enabled or signed into a different account. Open OneDrive settings and review the sync and backup options for those folders. Also check the OneDrive folder and its online recycle bin before deleting or moving anything. Since the files are valuable, avoid resetting OneDrive or changing folder locations until you’ve confirmed where the originals are.

Yes, OneDrive is installed and I use it for school, so I’ll check whether it changed the folder locations or is still syncing them.